Vision
The vision of the Bloom Empowerment Center is to offer enhanced technical support, attainable capital, and access to opportunity which instills York with a thriving culture of entrepreneurship defined by our rate of business births, women owned businesses, and minority business enterprises. The Bloom Empowerment Center was conceptualized to provide access to capital, resources, and education to accelerate small business startup, growth, and success.
What this means
Through a suite of services, the Bloom Empowerment Center will include opportunities for grants, loans, business classes, fellowships, and mentorships. To date, we have launched the efforts around grants, workforce pathways, Small Business Classes and training. Our small business classes that launched July of last year directly served women and minority entrepreneurs which further aligns line with our Bloom Empowerment Center goals:
- 175 Participants
- 45% Live or own a business in the City of York
- 61% women
56% persons of color.
57% of registrants own a business, 43% are looking to launch a business within the next year or two.
Data from July 15 to present
Suite of Services
Bloom Small Business Development Program
Program Details
Together with partners Crispus Attucks, Shippensburg Small Business Development Center (SBDC), York NAACP, Fulton Bank and Susquehanna Score, we launched a multi-week training program to assist entrepreneurs. Through the proposed sessions we hope to connect them to the resources necessary to support their business lifecycle. There is no cost for this program.
Presenting Sponsor:
Gold Sponsor:
Details & Registration
The 101 Start Up Level Classes in Spanish: The Alphabet Soup of Having a Business will begin August 18 and run through September 15, on Thursdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
The 201 Growth and Maintenance Classes in English will being September 14 and end October 19 on Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30 p.m. .
All sessions will be hosted at Crispus Attucks (605 S. Duke Street, York, PA 17401)
Bloom Workshops
Program Details
Workshops where we’ll take an in-depth dive with experts that will give business owners the opportunity to ask direct questions to presenters about their unique business needs
Sponsored by:
Upcoming Workshops
More workshops will be announced throughout the year. All are offered at no cost.
Bloom Grant Program
The Bloom Grant Program was created in 2018 by a class of summer interns, to offer unique funding opportunities through this small business grant program. Grant rounds have been hosted for women-owned businesses, Downtown York specific businesses, York County Trail Town Businesses, WBCO, graduates of the YCEA’s small business development program, YCEA member businesses throughout York County and more.
Upcoming Grant Cycles
List of Cycles
Winter Q1
Small Business Class Participation
York County Trail Towns
Summer Q3
Countywide Small Business
Downtown York
Fall Q4
WBCO
Small Business Class Participation
Bloom Pathways
Looking for your next career or training opportunity? Find your next pathway at www.yocopathways.com to view opportunities from hundreds of employers and training program providers!
Bloom Business Series
Downtown Inc has partnered with PNC for a series of workshops that help merchants keep up to date on best practices for customer service, social media and more. After expanding 2019-2021, the Business Series will enjoy another full schedule in 2022, thanks to the support of PNC.
Business Series events are FREE and open to the public, though pre-registration is required. While geared toward downtown businesses, anyone is welcome to attend.
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Loans
Pennsylvania’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) was established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) in response to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to help small businesses gain access to capital.
The SSBCI program is administered at the federal level by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, however, at the local level, PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) has contracted with economic development partners from across the state to implement and administer the $246.8 million in funding via a variety of loan and equity programs.
The York County Economic Alliance (YCEA) has been selected to receive $5.5 million in funding over several years to establish a revolving loan fund for small businesses in York County. The revolving loan funds must be matched by private funding.
For more information, fill out an inquiry form to have someone from our team contact you.